


The Paradise Decision

by theangelsace



Category: The Maze Runner Series - James Dashner
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-12-28
Updated: 2014-12-28
Packaged: 2018-03-04 00:12:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 11,606
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2895059
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/theangelsace/pseuds/theangelsace
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Thomas and Minho spend their first couple of weeks in Paradise, with the immunes they rescued leaving, they soon realise that there's more to do than what WICKED wanted</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Their first full day in Paradise seemed to be one of the longest; the introductions seemed endless, electing the council even more so. Minho had already agreed to be leader, but had confessed he would need help. Thomas agreed to be second in command, as somehow it felt right being at his friend’s side. He had thought about it, leaving the responsibility to someone else, but the morning had come, and then he decided otherwise. Unsurprisingly, most of the people they rescued managed to sleep well, the Gladers the few of them that were left, barely slept replaying the events of the last few days over in their heads. When he thought about it, about everything he knew Minho had been through more than him, had been in the Maze longer, that it wasn’t fair to leave him to run things on his own. 

Two doctors had joined them; Mary Appleton and David Hill. Both found they were immune pretty early on, when it was thought the Flare could be treated. When they knew they couldn’t do anything, they left San Francisco, and headed to Denver. Still though, they had to treat people in secret, many of those affect still expected a cure. There were also four engineers and two builders; Mike Grant, Hugh Wight, and the brothers Paul and Harry Watts. The two engineers had been on their way home from work on the Brooklyn Bridge when WICKED kidnapped them. The Watts brothers had been working to rebuild another part of New York when WICKED caught up with them. The remaining four spots were made up by two teachers; Fiona Knight and Samantha Hopkins. As well as, Francis Jennings and Robert Brent, both of whom had farms destroyed by the Flare. Alongside the main council there was also the security, search parties and building committee Minho had put together the night before.

It was late afternoon, by the time the twelve of them had finally been able to sit down and talk properly. The building committee and search parties were still working. The first gathering materials for huts, whilst the search party was still out looking for food and other places where there were immunes. With the building work not starting until the next day, they found a small clearing, a couple of minutes’ walk into the woods to hold their meetings for the time being. 

Thomas sat down, with Minho to his left, receiving a nod from the former Glader as he did so. Mary and David sat on Minho’s other side. Whilst, Mike; Hugh, Paul and Harry sat to Thomas’ right. Next to them were Fiona and Samantha, and finally Francis and Robert completed the circle. 

“Thank you, all. I know each of you has been through a lot these past few days, but I think it’s important we get to work straight away” Minho started by saying, earning himself nods of agreement from the rest of the group.

“In the Maze, everyone had a job. There would be a leader, and he would be in charge of a set of workers. We had builders, cooks, gardeners, medics – basically everything we needed, and everyone had the job that was best for them. On the whole this worked very well for us, for over two years….until this shuck-face showed up” Minho explained, pointing at Thomas

“Hey!” Thomas protested, halfheartedly “You know you love me really” he added, quieter so only Minho could hear him  
“And don’t you forget it, shuck face” Minho replied

“Moving on, please” David said.

“Right, of course sorry” Minho apologised, he wouldn’t admit it of course, but Thomas could see a small blush on the other’s face “I was thinking that perhaps we should do something similar here” he continued. “Over the next week, or so we’ll talk to as many people as possible, find out what their strengths are and what job would be best for them” Minho explained. “If they’re not sure, then just give them trial runs. Everyone finds something eventually” he finished.

“That really worked, in the Maze I mean?” Fiona asked 

“It did, yes” Thomas said, taking a turn to speak 

“I say we give it a try” Mike said 

“Everyone else agree?” Minho asked, looking around the group. 

One by one the remaining members of the council gave their agreement to the idea, and headed off for the evening. 

*************************************

Thomas was the last to head back, Minho had left about ten minutes ago, saying he needed to talk to the builders, and see if the search committee had returned or not. He waited a few more moments, before heading back. The rest of the group had broken off into smaller ones, building fires here and there. He made his way back to the spot where he had gotten so little sleep the night before; thankfully finding it to be free. 

As the evening went on the conversations, drifting over from the rest of the group began to lessen. 

“Hey there Slint-Head” Minho said, sitting next to him

“Hey, shuck-face” Thomas replied, somewhat taken aback, not having noticed the other’s arrival

“Building should begin tomorrow, and the search party found a river, about half a mile away and a small town several miles after that” Minho announced, looking out towards the rest of the group

“Good that” Thomas said, because it was all he could think of. 

“Yeah” replied Minho. 

The two of them sat in silence after that, watching as everyone else found a place to sleep for the night. Most people chose to go into the woods, under the cover of the trees, a few others preferred to stay out in the open. Thomas and Minho, stayed near the edge of the woods, because somehow going in – especially when it was dark, was like going into the Maze. Not knowing what was there, or if you were going the right way because something had somehow changed. At least during the day they could see, and hear the others to find their way back out. 

True, there were no Grievers in the woods, but it was the fear of becoming lost that kept them out during the night, than anything else.

“I’m going with the search committee tomorrow, see where this river and town are” Minho announced, once the last of the group had gone to bed.

“I’d be worried if you weren’t” Thomas admitted, glad of a break in the silence. 

“Oh?” replied Minho, finally turning to face Thomas.

“Well… yeah you are leader after all” Thomas replied, pointing out the obvious with a slight chuckle.

“So are you” Minho said

“No, you are. I’m just second in command” Thomas replied, confused. 

“We’re both leaders Thomas. Do you think that after everything we've been through that I would think of you as being beneath me?” Minho asked. 

Thomas thought about it for a moment, remembering how Minho had supported him during the Gathering after their night in the maze. 

“No” Thomas agreed

“Good that, Shank. Now come on, get some sleep” Minho said lying down on the grass. 

“Good night slint-head” replied Thomas, lying down as well, hoping for a better night’s sleep then the one before.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Whilst the search party show Minho to the nearby time, Thomas spends the day helping the builders with the new living huts

Minho awoke just past dawn the next morning to find that Thomas had fallen asleep against him at some point in the night. Deciding against waking him for a few moments longer, he watched as the rest of the group began to wake up. The adults with young children were the first to rise, followed by a few members of the search committee who agreed to lead them to the river and town. Several of the youngest children looked to be younger than ten. Minho shook his head, WICKED wasn’t good. How could it be, if it was prepared to put children that young through the horrors of the Maze?

He was lost in thought as Thomas finally woke up.

“Morning… oh sorry” Thomas apologised, realising where he was and moved. 

“Morning, sleeping beauty” Minho replied, with a slight wince as Thomas moved. Thomas had been lent against his shoulders, which had been one of the more badly burnt places on his body from the lightning storm. 

“I’m sorry, are you OK?” Thomas asked, this time much more genuine and concerned

“Yeah, I’ll be fine” Minho answered, some of the pain thankfully having already subsided. He was sure Thomas didn’t quite believe him, but decided to leave it at that. 

“Oh look, I thought the two sleeping beauties would never get up” Frypan said, walking over to the pair as they stood up, stretching their limbs. 

“I’m Prince Charming, he’s Sleeping Beauty” Minho said, pointing to Thomas

“Aw, that’s the nicest thing you’ve ever said to me” Thomas replied

“If you two are quite finished flirting…” Frypan began to say

“We weren’t flirting” the pair protested.

“Yeah and WICKED was doing the right thing” Frypan argued back, leaving the other two to reluctantly agree. “Just do it on your own time, slint-heads. Right now though, we've got breakfast” he announced 

“What, but I thought…?” Thomas began to ask 

“One of the girls found a few fruit trees” answered Frypan “I’ll give you two five minutes to finish flirting and then we’ll go” he said, walking back to the rest, leaving Thomas and Minho speechless. 

“Those two need their heads clunking together, I swear” Frypan muttered to himself. 

\----------------------------------

Breakfast turned out to be pears, which weren’t fully ripened yet, but still it was something. 

“You coming” Minho asked throwing the core he was holding down on the ground. As much as he would have liked to, he’d rather have time alone with Minho, rather than with other people. Just to spend time with the other runner, like they had done in the Maze.

“Nah, someone’s got to stay here, and help the builders” he replied. He could always take a turn and go out into the woods tomorrow, maybe even persuade Minho to go for a run with him. 

“Suit yourself, slint-head” Minho said, before leaving Thomas on his own, joining the search party. 

Thomas wandered around Paradise, spotting a few of the Gladers he still didn't know the names of here and there. A few of them were sat around, talking to one another, but there were so few of them left now that the biggest group he managed to spot was of four. Others were sat in groups with the other immunes, telling them stories of the Glade. From what he could hear, they were before his time in there. He couldn’t blame them though; life in the Glade was much simpler before he showed up, after all. 

Eventually, he spotted the builders; most of them were near the edge of the woods discussing the plans for the day. 

“Hello” Thomas said, announcing himself as he reached the group

“Hi there” Paul said, he and his brother would be in charge of the building committee 

“We were just discussing what needs to be done” Peter informed him. The guy was small, but also fairly stocky. 

“Yeah, we were thinking living huts over there” Dave chimed in, pointing to a spot on the edge of the woods, about a quarter of a mile to the north. “A medic hut and school just over there” he continued, this time indicating a spot a bit closer to them. “And a meeting room, in one of the clearings” he finished

“Excellent, I know just the place” Thomas said “Do you have everything you need?” he asked, knowing that whatever the case they were just going to have to make do.

“No, but we’ll manage” Richard said, the British accent clear in his voice.

“OK, well let’s get to work” said Thomas, following the rest.

***********************

Minho followed the search party as they walked through the woods. The trees were sparse, and there wasn't much undergrowth to worry about, perfect for a run. He was used to being the one to lead, rather than follow, but right now he hung back a few steps.

“Nearly there” Dana said, turning her head back

“OK” he replied, they would probably stop for a few minutes, before heading off to the town. Really, he could do without, but knew it would be for the best if he did get something to drink; during his first few weeks in the Maze there had been times when he finished his water and rations too early, and managed to make it back to the Glade, somehow.   
“Over here” Will said, calling him over a few minutes later. Minho made his way over to them, the river was small, only about fifteen foot wide or so, following the current he reasoned that it came out about a mile or so from where Paradise was. Looking the other way, he noticed a crossing point. It was only a few large rocks in the water, but they would at least save several miles of walking

“Well…” Harry asked. 

“It’s good, yeah” Minho agreed, kneeling down on the edge, cupping his hands in the water to get a drink. The others followed suit, talking among themselves for a few moments. 

“Everyone ready” Jamie asked, the other four nodding. 

Jamie and Will led the group over to the crossing point on the river, with Minho bringing up the rear. One by one they made their way across the river, with Harry offering Dana a hand. 

“Nah, I’m good” she said, staying perfectly balanced as she went from one rock to the next. Minho was the last to cross, willing himself to concentrate on where he put his foot.

“Although I think Minho there could do with some help” Dana continued, as he began to lose his footing. Will offered a hand, as he made to steady himself, only making things worse for himself in the process.

“Here” Will said, grabbing his arm before he actually did fall in. 

“Thanks” replied Minho, embarrassed. “Let’s keep going” he said, there was no way he was going to tell the other Gladers about that. 

******************************************

Several hours later, and they had managed to make a bit of progress with the building work. A few of the other survivors had come over to help, whilst others had gone off for walks. So far they had completed about three of the living huts. They were small, and would probably need some more work in the future, but they would hold for now. Plus it was enough that not everyone had to sleep outside that night. 

Thomas was working with a group of about six builders, putting together one of the living huts on the edge of the woods. They worked well together, following each other’s instructions and helping out where they were most needed. Throughout the day, the builders had been humming a song he couldn’t recall the name of, though it was somewhat familiar. He found himself humming along as well, as he and Daniel put together the back wall. 

They had agreed that with evening approaching, that this would be the last hut that they worked on for the day. The four walls were almost finished, with a gap for a doorway facing the cliff. All that was left to do really was the roof. 

The seven of them were the only ones left working a while later, the rest saying that they were going to help build the fires for the evening and gather some food together.

“Hey, Thomas” Minho shouted over to him, appearing from the woods 

“Hey!” he replied, stepping away from the hut for a few moments; thankful for the rest. “How did it go?” Thomas asked

“Well” Minho answered “The woods are perfect for running” he said, choosing that piece of information to share first. 

“Other than that” Thomas prompted, pleased about the first small piece of news

“Well, the river’s good. Easy to cross in the right place” he explained, ignoring the not so subtle laughter going on behind him. That was unfortunately not missed by Thomas. 

“I nearly fell in” Minho mumbled

“I didn’t quite catch that” Thomas said, putting a hand behind his ear

“I nearly fell in” Minho repeated, more clearly this time. 

“Aw poor Minho” Thomas teased, smiling

“Shut it, shuck face” Minho said, making to tackle the other teen. Thomas let him, falling down, with Minho on top pinning him to the ground. The two of them pretended to fight for a few moments, forgetting that they were supposed to be the ones in charge; laughing as they rolled around in the grass. 

“Not in front of the children” Frypan called, as he walked past the pair of them, bring both to their senses

“Oops” Thomas blushed, waiting for Minho to get off of him. Eventually, Minho moved off Thomas, helping him to get up as he did so.

After that, Minho told him what the town was like. It was small, and hadn’t really been affected by the flare. Apparently it was one of the few places in the country that hadn’t been hit. There were a few schools, a hospital and several places people could find work, as well as places to stay. 

Thomas nodded along as Minho continued to tell him about what the search party had shown him. When he finished, Thomas led him over to where the building work had been going on. In his absence, the others had managed to finish the fourth hut. Only a couple of them were left behind now, checking things over. He explained to Minho what they had done throughout the day, what they had left to do and where everything would be. This time Minho took a turn to nod as Thomas spoke.

“Excellent” Minho said, as Thomas finished “Now come on, let’s get some dinner before it all goes” he said, walking away before he gave Thomas a chance to reply.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Thomas says goodbye to Brenda as she leaves Paradise with other immunes and gets the chance to spend some time alone with Minho.

The following morning Thomas was one of the first to wake, immediately noticing that this time it was Minho who had fallen asleep on him. It would probably become something of a habit for the two of them, but Thomas wouldn’t mind if it did. He lay there, letting Minho sleep for a while long as he watched the first few people get up. 

It was still early, the sun hadn’t fully risen just yet, but already those who were awake were starting work for the day. A few had gone off to gather breakfast, whilst the builders started collecting more supplies. Moving so he could get a better look, he found that Minho’s head was leant against his chest. Slowly, Thomas led back down again, not wanting to wake the other up; carefully he stroked his thumb over the back of Minho’s head.

After a few moments, Minho’s eyes began to flutter open, adjusting to the early morning light. 

“Morning” Thomas said, not stopping with what he was doing. 

“Morning” Minho replied, leaning closer to the touch, if anything. 

“What do you want to do today?” Thomas asked, knowing really they should be helping the others. 

“Run” answered Minho, simply, moving up so that now his face was level with Thomas’.

“Me too” Thomas replied. 

The two of them stayed where they were for a while before they had to start the day.

“Hey” Brenda said, walking over to them. She’d been helping some of the immunes come to terms with what WICKED had done. 

“Hi, how are you?” Thomas asked, just to be polite, Brenda was a friend after all, but he couldn’t see her as anything more now. 

“I’m OK, but the three of us we need to talk” she replied, gesturing to herself, Thomas and Minho.

“Alright” Minho said, getting up now “What is it?” he asked bluntly, as Thomas stood up as well.

“Not here, follow me” Brenda said.

They followed as she led them along the edge of the woods, away from the rest of the group. 

“This’ll do” she said, stopping suddenly. Thomas looked back, they were still close enough that they could see Paradise, but they wouldn’t be overheard. 

“OK, what is it?” Minho asked, again, arms folded across his chest. 

“A few of the immunes and I have been talking” she started explaining, stopping to check that the two of them were listening “We’ve decided that we don’t want to stay here” she announced 

“Is there something wrong” Thomas asked, curious to the reasons why they wanted to leave. 

“No” Brenda answered “It’s just we want to go… somewhere else. Somewhere we can get jobs and have a home” she continued. They knew this would happen eventually, but hadn’t thought that it would so soon. 

“When” Minho asked

“Today” Brenda replied, leaving the other two there as she walked back.

\---------------------------------------------------------------------

After a few moments, Thomas and Minho started to make their way back over to Paradise. The walk somehow seeming longer than it had on the way over. By the time the rest of the group was in full view, they could see that already people were gathering up the few possessions that they had with them. Mostly, it looked to be the immunes, who had chosen to leave, but there were also a few of the Gladers.

“We have to let them go” Thomas said, Minho nodded as he looked around the group. In total it looked as though about thirty or so would be leaving, more than they had thought  
“Come on, let’s go and talk to Brenda” Thomas suggested, hoping to get a response from Minho, who merely shrugged. Thomas hadn’t expected for Minho to become so closed off like this all of a sudden. Sure, Thomas thought it must be hard to see the people you spent so much time with leaving, but normally he could at least get some sort of verbal response from him. 

They found Brenda among the rest of the group who were planning on going. 

“Yes?” she asked, as she noticed the two of them walk over. 

“It’s fine if you want to go, we can’t keep you here” Thomas stated, waiting a moment to see if there was any response from Minho. When there wasn’t, he continued “Just let some of the search party show you the way to the town”

“Thank you, Thomas” Brenda replied, a genuine smile on her face. 

“I’m going to go talk with some of the Gladers” Minho finally said as they made their way around the group.

“OK” replied Thomas

“Alone” Minho confirmed

“Sure thing, I’ll see you later” Thomas promised.

\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Thomas spotted a few of the search party, sat together on the edge of the woods. 

“Let me guess, you want a turn with being shown through the woods” Dana said

“No, actually I have another favour to ask of you guys” he said, he was actually planning on taking Minho for a run later on just the two of them

“What’s that?” Paul asked

“Quite a few of the people here have decided to leave” he began; Dana nodded for him to continue. “Would you be willing to show them the way over to the town?” he asked, anxious for a response.

“How many” Jamie asked him  
“About forty in all, we reckon” Thomas answered

“Very well, we’ll do it” Will agreed, the others giving their support, surprising Thomas, he thought that they would have taken a little more persuading. 

“Thank you” he said “I’m not sure when everyone will be ready, so get something to eat and drink in the meantime” Harry gave a mock salute from where he was sat “Yes sir”, he said, causing the five of them to burst out laughing. 

\---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The rest of the morning passed by quickly, it didn’t take too long for people to get ready to leave. By noon the search party had split them up into smaller groups to make it easier to lead them through the woods. Thomas found Brenda among the second group who would be going; she was talking with a few of the other immunes, making sure that they were ready. Those who had young children were trying to keep them close by as they waited to leave. 

“So I guess this is it” Thomas said, making Brenda turn around to look at him

“Yeah, I guess so” she replied, a small smile across her face. Thomas looked around, already the first group had left and it wouldn’t be long before the second would as well.  
“Thank you” he said, because that’s all he could think of, and there wasn't really time for anything else. 

“Thank you” Brenda repeated, instead of ‘you’re welcome’. As the rest of them began to leave she enveloped him in a brief, tight hug

“Go” he said, letting go of her as the group made it to the edge of the woods. 

“I’ll see you around Thomas” she said, before she walked away

“Yeah” Thomas replied, just loud enough for her to hear. Thinking that was it, he turned away to go in search of Minho and make sure that he was Okay

“Oh, and just kiss him already!” Brenda suddenly yelled over to him from the edge of the woods

“Who?” he shouted back

“Minho” came the reply, and with that she disappeared into the trees.

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------

Once the last group had left, Thomas found Minho sat with his back to one of the trees on the edge of the woods. 

“Hey” he said, sitting down next to him

“Hey” Minho replied, bringing his knees closer to his chest 

“You okay?” Thomas asked after a few moments, looking over towards Minho

“Yeah, of course” he answered, not looking directly at Thomas 

“Min, you once told me that you could tell by looking in my eyes that I was lying” Thomas began, causing Minho to look over at him “It goes both ways” he admitted, because he knew Minho wasn’t OK, neither of them were, not really. Every night Thomas fell asleep, scared that one of them would wake up, screaming, but for some reason neither ever did.

“Good memory, shuck-face” Minho said, with half a laugh, still knowing that Thomas was being serious.

“Yeah… well…” Thomas said, leaving the ‘I remember everything you’ve said and done for me’ unsaid. 

The two of them sat in silence for a while, Brenda’s last words to him playing on Thomas’ mind. It would have been so easy to, yesterday, to just lean up and kiss Minho whilst they had been wrestling, but then Frypan had come along and bought them to their senses. If he hadn’t they probably would have ended up kissing, and then laughing it off as nothing happened. 

“Want to go for a run” Thomas asked, after a while – thinking that some time away would do them both good. 

“Let’s see if you can finally keep up” Minho said, jumping to his feet and running off into the woods. 

It took all of ten seconds for Thomas to chase off after him, but already Minho was out of sight. Thomas settled his pace, listening for the sound of Minho’s boots hitting the ground as he ran. He continued to follow the small noises here and there, until eventually he saw Minho up ahead of him. The other runner immediately slowed down after he heard Thomas behind him, but still wasn’t stopping. Thomas picked up his pace, only making Minho run faster again.

The two of them continued their game of cat and mouse for almost an hour, before Minho finally stopped on the edge of the river, allowing Thomas to catch up with him. He stopped as he reached Minho, the two of them only slightly out of breath. Thomas grabbed the top of his knees, bending over laughing.

“What’s so funny” Minho asked, confused

“Nothing” Thomas replied, “Just this, it was nice” he admitted, kneeling down to splash his face with some water. 

“Yeah” Minho agreed, doing the same thing

Before they knew what was happening, or who had started it the two of them were splashing each over with water, laughing like they had done together back in the maze. It started off with just a few small splashes, but grew until they were both scooping out the water with their arms, trying to get the other soaked as they moved away. 

Neither of them willing to admit defeat, they kept doing it, because no one was there to stop them. Then all of a sudden they did stop, because somehow in all the mayhem, chasing and splashing one another they had found themselves only a couple of inches apart, and no one was there to stop them. 

No one was there to stop them moving closer. 

No one was there to stop Thomas tentatively putting his lips against Minho’s

No one was there to stop Minho from responding to the kiss.

No one was there to stop them, and so they didn’t.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> to be continued...


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Thomas and Minho spend a few hours alone before returning to Paradise

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Follows on from where chapter three finished

Neither of them spoke afterwards, instead just lying on the ground next to the river as they dried off. Thomas thanked whatever deity it was that made sure that no one had found them, especially none of the other remaining Gladers who surely would have teased them mercilessly if they had. And, they probably would have been so embarrassed by the fact that one of them would have run of, with both of them refusing to talk about what happened for days. 

They hadn’t been caught though, so now Thomas laid there, with his head on Minho’s chest as the other drew patterns on his back, cause Thomas to giggle every so often. Normally, he would have fond it embarrassing to be giggling like that in front of Minho, but at the moment he couldn’t bring himself to care. Minho didn’t seem to mind either, because he didn’t mention it. Or, rather he didn’t tease Thomas about it like he would usually have done. 

“We should probably go back” Minho said, reluctantly after a while making no attempt to move.

“Yeah” Thomas agreed, half-heartedly, not moving from where he was, because if he did this wouldn’t have happened, it would all have been in his head, and he and Minho would go back to the way things were before. 

He hadn’t realised how long the two of them had been there, until the small amount of light coming through the trees began to fade.

“It’s getting dark” Thomas pointed out

“Always with the obvious, hey greenie” Minho replied

“I’m not” Thomas replied, laughing turning his head to face Minho, happy to hear the old nickname again. 

The two of them continued to tease and kiss one another, forgetting Thomas’ earlier mention of the approaching night.

It wasn’t until they were interrupted by the sound of screaming that they did stop. Both of them were up like a shot, looking around for any sign of danger. All they saw though was Frypan, hands covering his eyes

“My eyes, my eyes!” he yelled, half seriously

“Frypan” they both said, realising the situation that they were in. “What on earth are you doing here” Minho asked, as the pair of them tried to hide their obvious embarrassment, with little success. 

“I came to collect some water” he began, still not uncovering his eyes “Instead, I come here to find the two of you wrestling like two days ago, only this time without your clothes” he said, yelling the last part, putting as much emphasis as possible on the ‘without'

“Sorry” they both apologised, covering themselves up

“It’s safe to look now” Thomas informed him, once he and Minho were decent again

“I highly doubt that” Frypan replied, slowly uncovering his eyes “I’m going to be having nightmares for weeks, the two of you do realise that, right?” he asked

“I’m sure you…” Minho began to say

“Weeks” Frypan said, cutting Minho off mid-sentence. “Now, if you two will excuse me I have some water to collect

“We’ll see you back in Paradise” Thomas said. 

“I’ve seen enough of you two already” replied Frypan, as he began to collect the water. 

\------------------------------

The two of them walked back to Paradise, the last of the light completely going by the time they reached the edge of the woods. There were small fires dotted around, with people as usual sat around them, talking, but there were a lot less than there had been the night before. Reminding Thomas why he and Minho had gone and spent time alone. 

Nobody noticed them as they walked over, taking up a couple of spare spaces next to some of the building committee, who didn’t say anything when they sat down. Thomas looked over to where the building work was going on; noticing that more huts had been completed since they had left. He felt guilty about not being there to help, but at the same time he would have felt even more guilty if he hadn’t of been there for Minho.

“Here, we saved some for you” Daniel said, handing them a piece of fish each

“Thanks” Minho said, accepting the food graciously 

“Thank you” Thomas said next, taking a bite. It was a lot better than he thought it would be “Where did you…?” he asked, after a few more bites 

“A few of the search party found a way down to the beach” Paul began to explain

“Yeah, apparently they had to take a detour on the way back” Richard said “Wouldn’t say why though” he continued. 

Thomas and Minho instantly went red, each choking on the bit of fish they had in their mouth. 

“You two, OK?” Paul asked, as the two tried to stop coughing 

“Yeah, fine” Thomas said, in between coughs, with a look towards Minho, who was just about recovering. 

“So… a way down to the beach” Minho asked, once he finally stopped coughing

“Yeah” Daniel answered “There’s some steps going down the cliff about half a mile that way” he confirmed, pointing away from the direction the buildings were

“Half… half a mile” Thomas stuttered, it wasn’t that far, but for a detour…

“Yeah, they must have had a good reason to go so out of their way” Paul agreed

Thomas and Minho merely looked at one another quickly, before anyone noticed.

“You two have gone very red all of a sudden” Richard pointed out

“Heat from the fire” Thomas explained, Minho nodding in agreement.

“If you say so” replied Paul

They didn’t mention it again after that, spending the rest of the evening talking as the fire slowly died down. It was pretty late by the time the builders finally left for the night  
“Oh” Paul said, coming back over “We forgot to mention, because so many people have left now, we should have enough room in the huts for everyone to sleep inside. Even if people do have to share with a few others” he explained

“Great, thanks” Thomas said, it wasn’t that he minded sleeping outside, but it would make a nice change to sleep under cover. 

\--------------------------------------------------  
Somehow they managed to find a hut which was unoccupied, despite nearly everyone already having gone to bed. It wasn’t much; there was only one gap in the walls, for a door with just one room on the inside, still it had enough room to fit about five people or so. Most of the other huts were bigger, and had enough space for ten, maybe fifteen at a push. There was also no floor, but that didn’t much matter, compared to sleeping in the Scorch, this was relatively luxury. 

They settled for sleeping next to the wall furthest from the doorway. Neither of them mentioned the fact that they automatically laid down next to each other, because that was their routine now. Even after just a couple of nights of doing so. The past couple of nights though, they had just fallen asleep next to one another, and woken up wrapped around each other. However, that night, it was also how they fell asleep.


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Minho panics when they realise that most of the council has left, and starts to open up to Thomas more.

“Aww, they look so sweet when they’re asleep” Frypan said, quietly walking in the hut “And dressed” he added. Looking at the two of them, it was almost impossible to tell where one ended and the other began. Frypan gave a quick sigh. Somehow, he had drawn the short straw and was elected to go and wake the sleeping beauties. 

“Rise and shine, shuck faces” he shouted, causing the two of them to burst apart.

“Must you do that?” Minho asked, realising who was there

“Yes” 

“Why?” Thomas said, rubbing his eyes, still half asleep

“Mid-day” Frypan answered, simply, laughing at the look on their faces. He stepped aside as Minho and Thomas made to get passed him.

“Shuck” Minho said, noting the position of the sun.

Thomas looked around; most of the builders had already stopped working for the hour. The search party was sat with them, not having anything else to do that day. Thomas noticed more people than yesterday seemed to have gone.

“Umm… where’s” he started to ask, looking back at Frypan, Minho having realised the same thing. 

“Well… some of the other Gladers went to the river to wash their clothes. Some of the immunes went down to the beach” Frypan answered, counting the groups off on his hand as he did so. 

“What about the council?” Minho asked. Thomas looked around; the only members he could see were the builders, engineers and one of the farmers. Realisation hit then, most of them must have left with the others yesterday, and neither of them had realised. Minho, because he had been so focused on saying goodbye to the Gladers who would be going.  
And, Thomas, because the only person he had spoken to who was leaving was Brenda. After that, all he had been able to think about was Minho. 

“They left yesterday” Frypan answered, as if the two of them already knew

“I… I can’t…” Minho said, running off into the woods before the other two had a chance to stop him. 

 

\----------------------------------------------------------

 

“For shuck’s sake, Thomas, go!” Frypan yelled at him, pulling him out of his state of shock

“Huh?” he replied, dazed

“Oh for the love of Grievers” Frypan said, exasperated, turning Thomas towards the woods “After Minho” he said, giving Thomas a slight push as way of encouragement. Thomas didn’t need to be told twice after that. He ran off into the woods, listening for any signs of Minho. There wasn’t any within his range of sight, so he continued running, not sure how long it had been. 

There were a few more exposed tree roots here than there had been in the other part of the woods. Thomas paid close attention to where he was going, knowing it wouldn’t do them any favours for him to trip over a tree root and break his ankle. 

After nearly half an hour, he slowed his pace, just as Minho had taught him in the maze. It was always keep running, keep your breathing even and only stop if you know you’re not in danger. He could have stopped then, he knew. It was safe to, but he was just focused on finding Minho at that point, ignoring the ache in his muscles, from the day before and not having prepared properly for the run. 

The hour mark came and went, causing Thomas to really start to panic. He thought he’d heard the other runner a couple of times, but those had turned out to be false alarms  
“MINHO” he began to shout, not knowing what else to do. Thomas knew Minho could take care of himself, but somehow he couldn’t help but worry. He really hadn’t thought that so many of the council leaving would cause Minho to react in such away. He kept running, yelling Minho’s name as he did so

 

\----------------------------------------------------------

 

Eventually, he managed to stumble across a small clearing, immediately spotting Minho sat on the other side. 

“Hey” he said, cautiously as he walked over

“Hey” replied Minho, looking up

“Want to talk about it?” Thomas offered as he sat down

“Not really, no” Minho answered; Thomas knew he must have felt embarrassed about running off like that. 

“Okay” Thomas said, not making any attempt to reach over and put his arm around Minho, because he wasn’t sure if he wanted him to or not  
“You had me terrified for a while there” he admitted, after a few moments of silence

“Oh?” Minho asked

“Yeah” Thomas replied “Shuck sake, Min, Frypan’s probably put together an entire search party by now” he said, half-jokingly moving slightly closer.

“Do you really think Frypan wants to find us, after yesterday” Minho laughed

“To be honest, I was kind of surprised he was the one to wake us up earlier” he replied, smiling. 

“I can’t do this” Minho admitted, after a few moments of silence. Thomas immediately began to panic, thinking over what Minho could have meant by the admission. 

“Can’t what?” Thomas asked, unable to hide the worry in his voice.

“Be leader” he answered. Thomas was slightly relieved he hadn’t said that they couldn’t be together, but he didn’t show it. Instead he focused on Minho, and getting him to open up. 

“Min…” Thomas said “You’re a great leader” he said, because it was the truth “And I wouldn’t be here today if it wasn’t for you”

“I’m tired, Thomas. I needed the council, need the help. I can’t do it. At least not on my own” he replied, voice shaking. Thomas put his arm around him, kissing the side of his head, Minho sighing contently at the contact. 

“I know, I know” he repeated “But it’ll be OK, we can form a new council, and I’ll be there” Thomas promised

“Thank you” Minho said, no names, no teasing, just a pure simple ‘thank you’ 

The two of them sat there like that for a while longer Thomas running his hand up and down Minho’s back, until he broke the silence

“You’re wrong, you know?” he said

“About?” Thomas said earlier

“If it wasn’t for me” Minho said

“Oh?” Thomas replied, curious now 

“It works both ways” said Minho “That night in the Maze, I wouldn’t have survived if it wasn’t for you” he said “And I don’t know what I was thinking when I left you, but I know if I had been alone, if you hadn’t been there…” he explained, cheeks suddenly damp from crying. Not knowing what else to do, Thomas pulled Minho closer to him, trying to fight back tears of his own. 

“I couldn’t just leave you” Thomas replied, continuing to comfort Minho as best he could.

\-----------------------------------------

It took some time before Minho calmed down; Thomas wasn’t really paying attention though. 

“Thank you” he said, voice slightly uneven as he moved 

“You’d do the same for me” Thomas replied, at least hoping that he would 

“Yeah, of course” the other replied, smiling

“Would you like to go back now?” Thomas asked 

“I can’t” Minho answered

“Why? They’ll understand and we don’t have to say anything” said Thomas

“No, I mean, I can’t walk” explained Minho

“What! Why didn’t you say anything before?” asked Thomas, panic filling his mind again

“Relax, Thomas” Minho said, putting a hand on Thomas arm in reassurance “I meant I tripped on that tree root” he explained, pointing to one of the larger roots across the clearing “And I’m pretty sure I’ve sprained my ankle, at least"

“One, don’t scare me like that”

“Sorry” Minho replied, before Thomas had a chance to move onto his second point

“Secondly, do you think you’d be able to walk” he asked

“I’m not sure. Maybe with a little help” Minho answered. 

“Okay, let’s try it” Thomas suggested, standing up “Ready” he asked, offering Minho a hand, who gratefully accepted. Once most of Minho’s weight was lent against Thomas, the two of them took a few slow steps before Minho stopped, clearly in pain. 

“Yeah… that’s not going to work” Thomas pointed out, helping Minho back down to the floor. “I could carry you” he suggest, it was there only option really. 

“You can’t” Minho said 

“Really” Thomas replied “Minho, I was prepared to carry you Bridal style back in the Scorch if I had to, and I’m willing to do so here” 

“Really” Minho asked, confused that someone was willing to do that for him

“Of course” Thomas replied “May I?” he asked, just to make sure, Minho nodded. Thomas bent down, placing one arm behind Minho’s neck and the other behind his knees. Slowly he lifted him up, until he was standing adjusting to the weight in his arms. 

Slowly, Thomas began to walk back to Paradise, having a vague idea of which direction to go. He ignored the weight on his arms, but still Minho kept insisting on asking if he was OK, and whether or not he wanted to stop for a few minutes. Each time he did, Thomas would answer with an ‘I’m fine’ or a ‘No, thank you’, just focusing on where he was walking

“Seriously, Thomas just stop for a moment” Minho said, clearly able to tell how much Thomas was struggling

“I’m…” Thomas began to protest 

“No, you’re not” Minho said, cutting him off “Now, please, put me down for a few minutes and take a rest” he said “Not open for discussion” he added quickly, before Thomas had the chance to argue. 

“Fine” Thomas agreed, somewhat reluctantly as he put Minho down

“Better?” Minho asked, as Thomas sat down as well 

“I thought I was the one who was supposed to be making a fuss” Thomas said

“So did I” Minho replied “But, you’re you and you needs someone to worry about you”

“True” Thomas agreed, the pair of them laughing. And then Minho was kissing him again, and Thomas knew why he wanted to stop so badly. He didn’t care though. 

“That’s why you wanted to stop” Thomas said a couple of moments later as they both pulled away. 

“Well…yeah” Minho admitted 

“What am I going to do with you” Thomas replied, shaking his head, smiling 

“I’m sure you’ll think of something” Minho said, suggestively, teasing Thomas 

“I might have to” he replied, in the same tone

“Do” Minho said, kissing Thomas again. 

“Come on, we have to go back” Thomas said, finally

“But I want to stay here” Minho replied 

“So do I, but we need to get that ankle of yours checked” Thomas pointed out, as he stood up, this time making sure it was Minho who couldn’t argue back

“Alright, better pick me up again” Minho agreed, somewhat reluctantly. Thomas did so, carrying Minho the same way he had before. 

****************

Ten minutes later, they were back on the edge of the woods by Paradise

“I knew we were close” Thomas said, as Frypan and a couple of others came rushing over. 

“The shuck, happened?” Frypan asked, seeing Minho being carried by Thomas 

“This genius” Thomas began, looking down at Minho, who in turn waved at the group “Hi” he said, helpfully. Thomas shook his head, and continued “Yes, anyway this genius here, tripped over a tree root, and probably sprained his ankle” he explained, walking towards the huts, not wanting to stay still for too long 

“Brilliant, Minho, just brilliant. Two years of running in the maze and you get defeated by a tree root” Frypan said, as if though he was only half surprised by the fact. 

“Yeah” Thomas agreed, carrying Minho into one of the huts and putting him down 

“Thanks” Minho said, as he sat up 

“I’ll get someone” Frypan offered 

“Cheers” Thomas said, sitting down as well. 

The two sat in comfortable silence as they waited for Frypan to get back

“Here they are” he said “Thomas, Minho this is Adam. Adam this is Thomas, and that’s the genius who tripped on a tree root” Frypan said, introducing them  
“Thanks for that, slint-head” Minho said 

“Anytime, yell if you need me” Frypan said, leaving the three of them alone 

“Which ankle is it?” Adam asked

“The left” Minho said, moving so Adam could examine it.

“As you thought it’s just a sprain. Just go easy for a while, Okay?” Adam said

“Yeah, OK” Minho agreed. 

“Make sure he does” Adam said, with a look to Thomas 

“I will” he assured the other man 

“Yeah, he will” Minho added. Adam gave them both a nod and left the two of them alone after that to go and get something to eat. 

Sometime later, Frypan came back with food for both of them, but by that time they were already asleep.


	6. Chapter 6

Thomas woke up the next morning to find that Minho had already left. Sighing to himself, he quickly got up and went in search of the other. Much like sleeping together, this too was becoming something of a habit for them.

Normally, most people were up by that time, but this morning several had stayed in their huts for a while longer; making the place seem emptier than it had already become.

Thomas found Dana and the rest of the search party sat together, eating the small amount of breakfast they had managed to put together. 

“Morning” he said, walking over to the group, accepting the bit of food that was offered to him. 

“Morning” Will said, the others doing the same. Thomas spent a few minutes looking around the rest of the Immunes, trying to pick Minho out among them, but with no luck.

“Any of you seen where Minho went” he asked after a couple of minutes, hiding the slight worry in his voice. 

“He said he was going to collect some water” answered Harry “Don’t worry, I’m sure he’ll be back soon” he added quickly, the other three nodding in agreement

“OK” Thomas says, knowing that Minho’s probably OK. 

He waited a while longer, before leaving the search party, heading over to help with the building. The living huts were finished the day before, though they still had to do the med-hut, and meeting hall. Somehow, there seemed little point in making a school room, as all the children that had been with them had left. 

Paul and Dave are already there, discussing where they should build next exactly; whilst gathering the things they need. Thomas joined them, helping them to carry a few fallen logs

“Thanks” Paul says, as they put the piles down

“No problem” Thomas said, pleased with having something to keep himself busy.

“The others are still having breakfast” Dave tells him

“Hopefully they’re encouraging a few more people to help out” Paul adds. Thomas nods, with the progress they had been making, it wouldn’t be too long before things were finished. 

“Come on, this lot needs to be over there” Paul tells them, picking his pile back up again. The other two follow suit

“So what’s it today?” Thomas asks, as they walk

“Med-hut” Dave replies 

“Yeah, looks like we could do with one. Is Minho usually that clumsy?” Paul asks 

“No” Thomas replies “Just an unfortunate accident is all” he explains, not going into the details of why Minho had fallen over. 

A couple of minutes later they reach the point where the med-hut was going to be built, the three of them sitting down for a few moments as they wait for the others to catch up. It doesn’t take too long before the rest of them arrived, the two engineers and Harry, Paul’s brother being the last to join them.

They set about dividing the group up into threes and fours. Thomas finds himself in a group with Paul, Mike and Dave. Something he’s pleased about, as it means he can talk to them about the council as they work. 

“Hey, Minho and I were thinking of forming a new council, now that so many have left” he informs them, as they begin to dig holes for the logs which’ll act as corners of the building

“I was thinking that would be the case” Mike says,

“Yeah, but of course you’re welcome to stay if you’d like” he tells them

“Yeah” Paul and Mike agree

“Great, do you think Hugh and Harry will want to as well?” he asks 

“Harry definitely will, he loves that sort of thing” Paul answers “I’m not sure about Hugh though” he adds.

The four of them continued working, making small talk as they do so. Thankfully, it doesn’t take too long before they’re able to start putting the corners in place. The others have finished what they were doing, so Paul manages to recruit them in helping to put the first log in place. 

It takes about half an hour, or so, but eventually they manage to get each of the corners in place, even starting with a couple of the walls, before agreeing to go and have some lunch.

\----------------------------------------

Thomas grabbed a few pieces of fruit which had been gathered by the search party, and found a spot on the edge of the woods to sit and eat. He settled himself against one of the trees, enjoying the few minutes he has to himself

“Hey” he heard someone say after a few minutes 

“Hey” Thomas replies, turning around to see Minho walking towards him, a very slight limp evident as he does so. 

“How are you today?” Thomas asks, as Minho sits beside him 

 

“Better, thank you” Minho replies and Thomas knows he’s telling the truth. Noticing Minho doesn’t have anything, Thomas hands him the apple he’s been holding  
“Thanks” says Minho, immediately taking a bite

“I was kind of worried when I woke up to find you gone this morning” he admits

“Aww, you do miss me” Minho replied, nudging Thomas’ arm playfully

“Yeah, of course I did shuck face” Thomas said, returning the gesture 

“So did you really go and get water, or…” he asks

“I was at first” Minho answers “But then I don’t know” he admits “I sort of forgot and just went for a walk” he explains “No running” he added to reassure Thomas

“Good” Thomas said, relieved 

“Really, I should have been back a while ago, so I don’t think the others will be too happy with me at the moment” Minho tells him

“Ah, we’ll go and get it after lunch” Thomas assures him, the builders could manage without him for a couple of hours after all

“OK” Minho agrees.

\------------------------------------------------------------------------  
It doesn’t take the two of them long to finish their small lunch. Getting up, they grab the stuff they need to collect the water, and head into the woods. Already, Thomas could see how much Minho wanted to run; the others walk almost breaking into a jog at times. Not wanting him hurting his ankle any further, Thomas quickly grabs Minho’s hand, in an attempt to keep him at a slower pace

“Huh” Minho says, slightly confused looking down to see his hand in Thomas’

“No running” Thomas reminds him

“I know” replied Minho, but doesn’t let go of Thomas’ hand. Instead the two of them start walking again, this time with Minho allowing Thomas to set a slightly slower pace, carrying the buckets they had retrieved from the shed before burning it at their sides. 

Thomas doesn’t let go of Minho’s hand until they reach the edge of the river, enjoying the small amount of intimacy whilst it lasted. 

It takes only a few moments for them to fill the buckets, before heading back though they decide on taking a break for a few moments, both of them taking a drink. 

“I’ve got an idea” Minho says 

“I am not playing chase, Min” Thomas says 

“No” replied Minho “Though I wouldn’t mind a game of kiss chase” he adds, winking at Thomas, who merely laughs the suggestion off. “I meant, why don’t we go in the river?” he suggests

“In there?” Thomas asks in turn 

“Yes, greenie, you’re not afraid of water are you?” Minho asks him, almost concerned

“No, not at all” he assures him. “Yeah, OK. Let’s do it” Thomas agrees, thinking of how nice it would be to cool off in the water.

The two of them strip of their clothes, sitting on the edge of the water for a couple of minutes before getting in. Once in, they find that the water only comes up to their chests and that the temperature of it isn’t as cold as they had been expecting. 

For some reason though, Thomas can’t bring himself to move around like Minho is doing. The other walking around, pushing the water away with his arms. 

“You OK?” Minho asks, coming back over to him

“Yeah” Thomas says, trying to ignore the ‘I know you’re lying face’ Minho was giving him. 

“Here” Minho said, this time being the one to offer his hand to Thomas which he gratefully accepts. Minho makes sure to keep a hold of it, whilst not letting them get anywhere too deep. 

Eventually Minho pulls Thomas back towards the bank, the two of them stopping there. Almost without thinking, Thomas wraps his arms around Minho, tracing the scars on the others back, paying more attention to them than he had done before; the small action causing a slight intake of breath from Minho, who doesn’t tell Thomas to stop. Instead, he lets him continue for a few minutes, knowing that Thomas has silent tears running down his face, but doesn’t say anything about the fact. 

Thomas isn’t sure how long it is before he let’s go of Minho, and when he does he doesn’t want to; tracing the scars on his back bringing back all the memories from the Scorch, of nearly losing Minho.

“I’m here, I’m OK. We both are” Minho assures him, drawing soothing circles on his back as he does so, but Thomas feels as though he should be the one comforting Minho. Before getting out of the water, the two of them share a quick kiss, agreeing they have to head back.

Quickly the two of them dry themselves off, and put their clothes back on. 

Though the pair are reluctant to walk back, as the weight of the buckets and the want to not spill anything means they can’t hold hands. Still, they manage to walk as closely as possible, not talking much as they do so. 

When they reach Paradise, the first person that they spot is Frypan.

“How long does it take to fetch some water?” Frypan asks, as he rushes over to them 

“Well…” Thomas begins to say 

“No, I don’t want to know” the other replies, holding a hand up to stop Thomas mid-sentence. One of the other immunes joins them then, taking the bucket of water from Thomas, Frypan doing the same with Minho 

“We were only…” Minho starts

“Don’t want to know” Frypan repeats, as he walks away. Singing obnoxiously as he does so in an attempt to block any disturbing mental images; Thomas and Minho laughing at as he does.


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Final Chapter

The smallest of the living huts quickly became Thomas and Minho’s, mostly because it was just big enough for the two of them; offering privacy for them at night from the rest of the group. When morning came, however, the two of them were up around dawn, sitting out in the open eating fruit which had been collected the day before. 

“How’s the ankle?” Thomas asked, knowing it must still be sore, no matter what Minho would tell him

“Getting better, I’ll try jogging in a week” Minho answered

“Good that, shank” he replied, relieved to hear that Minho wasn’t going to try anything too soon.

“We should probably set up a new council today” Thomas suggested, between mouthfuls 

“Finally, he gets the idea of not talking with his mouthful” Minho laughed

“Minho” Thomas said, half seriously, trying to keep the other focused

“OK, OK” the other replied, holding his hands up in defeat.

Thomas took the opportunity, grabbing Minho’s hands, maneuvering the two of them until Minho was led underneath him

“No, fair” complained Minho, making no real attempts to escape

“How about now” Thomas asked, kissing him before he could reply

“I could learn to live with it” Minho agrees, after a few moments

Thomas moves to let Minho up, before anyone sees them. The relationship between the two of them wasn’t exactly secret, but it didn’t mean they were overly affectionate in front of everyone. 

As usual, the search committee were among the first to wake. Dana told them, that the four of them planned on going to the town after breakfast in order to gather some supplies.

“So any suggestions, we can’t promise anything but…” she said

“First aid supplies” Thomas said, with a look towards Minho

“One time, I fell over one time” the other replied, exasperated 

“Still, first aid” Thomas repeats “Non-perishable food” he adds

“Blankets” Minho suggests “But that’s mostly so I won’t have to sleep wrapped around this Shank each night” he says, pointing his thumb at Thomas  
“Hey!” Thomas said, offended

“Oh, you know I love you” Minho said, as way of an apology

“Too right” Thomas replied, half smugly, but also very relieved

“Lovely, but can we move on” Dana said

“Sorry” the two of them replied

“Good, anyway we’ll see what we can do” she told them, before going to join the rest of the committee.

**********************************************

By the time the last person was out of their hut, the sun had already fully risen, and Thomas and Minho had begun to establish who to ask to make up the new council. They agreed that with the work they had already the search and building committees were out; with the exception of Paul, Mike and Harry. The two of them also agreed that it would be good to try and get one of the security team on board as well. Only trouble was, Thomas had no idea who they were and Minho was sure the majority of them had already left.

“There’s Sarah” Minho said, suddenly, jerking Thomas from his thoughts

“Who?” he asked, realising she must have been one of the people with them, but he couldn’t recall which

“Sometimes, you can be the stupidest shuck face I’ve ever had the pleasure to be in love with” Minho said. Thomas taking the note of the ‘in’, it was a subtle difference to how Minho had said it before

“I try” he said

“I know you do” Minho said smiling  
“And I love you too” he added, saying it back.

“Not only is she on the security team, but she’s still here” Minho explained, after a minute “She also put the fear of God in to me the day we met” he added

“Really” Thomas replied, somewhat shocked

“Yeah, forced to be reckoned with that one” Minho said

“Alright then, that’s half of the council, including us two, one of which Minho’s scared of. Good, good” Thomas said

“Just you wait” Minho warned him

*********************************

It didn’t take too long for Thomas to find out exactly what Minho had meant. They found her on the edge of the woods, around mid-day, watching the rest of the group

“Thomas, Sarah. Sarah, Thomas” Minho said, introducing them

“Nice to meet you” Thomas said, being taken by surprised when he was tackled to the ground by the small, brunette

“Minho” Thomas said from his place on the ground, in an attempt to get some help

“I did the same to him” Sarah explained, as she let Thomas up

“It’s true” Minho admitted “It’s her way of greeting people, and how she got me to agree to let her be a member Security” he added

“A member, more like ‘head of’” she said, correcting him

“Apologies, Head of the Security Team” Minho corrected himself

“I was a fitness and martial art instructor before, well… all of this” Sarah explained “I figured it would be best to keep those skills” she added. Thomas nodded in agreement. “But WICKED still managed to grab me, the bastards saw what I was capable of with the group I was teaching, so decided it would be better to add a little something to my glass of water and kidnap me in my sleep”

“Bastards” Thomas agreed, not knowing what else to say, and by the looks of things neither did Minho. Clearly this was the first time he had heard about this as well

“I assume you two didn’t just come here to talk. No one does, I prefer it like that” she told them

“You’d be right” Minho replied “With most of the original council having left, we were hoping you’d agree to be on the new one?” he asked

“You don’t have to answer right now” Thomas added, not wanting to make it seem as though they were pressuring her into a decision

“I’ll let you know” she told them, before returning to where she was stood when they found her. The two of them took that as their cue to leave.

***********************************

It was late in the evening by the time the search party returned with the supplies they had promised. Each of them with newly acquired backpacks. Thomas and Minho managed to intercept them as they reached the huts. 

“Well, it took some persuading, but we did eventually manage to get everything” Will said, the four of them placing the bags they were carrying down on the ground. “Not having anything to trade, made things slightly more difficult, but once we explained that we had escaped from WICKED they were more than happy to help, some were at least” he added

“I also managed to find a doctor, and told him about Minho’s ankle. He gave me a small bandage for him to wear for a week” Harry said

“A week” Minho repeated 

“Afraid so” Will confirmed

“Great, just shucking great” Minho sighed, taking the bandage Dana had retrieved from her bag.

“We can sort through the rest of this in the morning, good night” Thomas said, giving the four their cue to leave.

“Do I have to?” Minho asked him, once the others had left

“Sounds like it” Thomas answered, knowing just how unhappy that fact was making the other. “I’ll do you a deal” he suggested

“Hmm” Minho replied, perking up slightly at that.

“If you can’t run, or even jog with that thing on for the week, than I won’t either” he offered

“Are you serious” asked Minho, to make sure

“Absolutely no running, unless there’s a fire and I have to carry your shuck self out of danger” Thomas confirmed

“Like you could run whilst carrying me” Minho scoffed. “Thank you, though. I mean you really don’t have to, but thank you” he added with a small smile

“Anytime” Thomas replied 

 

*****

By the end of the week, it was clear to see just how fed up Minho had become with not being able to do even the slightest bit of running. 

“You know, with having spent years running through a maze, anyone would have thought that you’d be pleased with a week off” Thomas said, as the two of them went around collecting pieces of rubbish. They may be in Paradise, but it was often far from tidy. 

“Well… It is all I’ve ever known” Minho replied “Sleep, eat, run, survive. If I’m not running then I feel like I’m not helping” he added.

“You are helping” Thomas assured him, pausing to place a hand on Minho’s shoulder, as he stepped forward to give him a light kiss on the forehead. “And besides, you were meant for far more than what WICKED wanted from you” he added. Minho looked at him, confused by what he had just said. 

“You mean that?” he asked, seeking reassurance. 

“Of course, we both were” Thomas answered. The two of them finished clearing up in silence after that, Minho clearly still thinking about had said. The idea of not having to run for miles every day still seemed strange to Minho, but the more he thought about it the more he realised Thomas had a point. He only ran the Maze, because that’s what WICKED had wanted from him, had trained him for months before putting him in the glade, even if he couldn’t remember it. 

*****

“You were right” he admitted, as he and Thomas made their way over to their hut for the night. 

“Hold on, I need to right this in my diary” Thomas said, stopping Minho before he had the chance to continue

“Greenie…” Minho began a slight warning tone evident in his voice. 

“Dear diary…” Thomas started “You will never believe what happened today. Minho said I was right. I never thought this day would come…” he continued

“He’s so amazing and perfect…” Minho added for him, smirking

“Funny” Thomas said, not holding back a laugh

“I thought so” replied Minho. 

“Anyway, what was I right about?” Thomas asked. 

“About doing more than just what WICKED wanted” Minho answered. 

“I see. What’re you thinking?”

“We leave here, go somewhere and do something. Anything” 

“Anything” Thomas asked, to make sure

“Yeah, shuck face anything.” Minho replied, as the two of them stripped of their clothes. 

“That sounds…” Thomas began, pausing as he went to lie down. Minho pulling the blanket over the two of them, and turning to face Thomas

“Good… scary… brilliant” Minho said, listing off words, as he wrapped his arms around Thomas

“All of the above” Thomas said, settling into Minho’s hold. The pair of them kissed for a while longer before falling asleep.


End file.
